The Monkey King and the Strawberry
by Toybox13
Summary: Ichigo is an animal behaviorist that is sent to China to help find out what is keeping construction workers from clearing the land and delaying their project and why.
1. Flying and Tigers

The Monkey King and the Strawberry

**This was something I typed up a long time ago hoping to publish. But it got buried under some things. Now I'm going to upload and finish it while I work on some other things. Hope you enjoy. Please feel free to favorite, comment, and follow.**

Summary: Ichigo is an animal behaviorist that is sent to China to help find out what is keeping construction workers from clearing the land and delaying their project and why. They believe that it is some sort of large animal and want to relocate it somewhere safer so they can continue with their work. He agrees to help with the capture all while trying to stop Aizen ,an infamous poacher, who would like nothing more than to have another rare animal hide mounted on his wall. But the forest and mountain have a powerful ally who would stop at nothing to protect his turf and win over our lovely strawberry.

Chapter 1

Ichigo sighed and looked out of the plane window. Despite it being a beautifully clear and sunny day, he couldn't help but be a little depressed. "I hope Shiro's okay." I murmured. A hard pat on the shoulder brought me out of my thoughts and back to reality. "Cheer up Ichigo! We're going to China, so stop being so gloomy!" I turned to glare up at my friend and colleague Rukia. The petite raven haired girl stood behind me with a broad smile on her face and her arms crossed over her chappy the bunny t-shirt. "Stop worrying about that dumb old cat." "That 'dumb old cat' as you put it is a three hundred pound man eating tiger." I seethed. She shrugged and sat down in the aisle seat next to me. "Cat. Tiger, same thing according to all that animal mumbo jumbo you go on about."

Sitting in the cargo hold on the plane was my pet albino Bengal tiger, Shiro. I got him a few years back in India after poachers killed his mother. He kind of grew attached to me so I had no choice but to bring him back. We've been together ever since. "First of all, it's not mumbo jumbo. You're a biologist to so you should know the difference. Secondly, you know why I'm worried. Remember the last time I left Shiro behind to go on a job." The first time I ever left Shiro behind was two years ago. I had to go take a census of the species and population of penguins in Antarctica for a project. I left Shiro in the care of some friends at an animal sanctuary, hoping that things would go smoothly. Boy, was that a disaster. We were halfway to our destination when I got a rather disturbing call.

As it turns out right after I left, Shiro threw a big tantrum and began to trash the place. He would growl and swipe at anyone who came near him. In the end I had to turn back and go get him. When he saw me he pounced on me and would not let me out of his sight for days. So now I bring him with me on most of my jobs. Rukia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say." She propped up her boot clad feet on the seat in front of us and laid back. "Do you know who else is coming with us?" I scratched the back of my head as I thought back to the preflight briefing. "Umm…There's Urahara…" He was leading this expedition. "…Yourichi…" Our medic. "… and Kenpachi and Ikkaku." They were our protection and the main guys that trapped the animals we needed. No sooner than I had spoken did the rest of the team come in.

The first one in was Yourichi, all decked out in her usual tan shorts and white button down shirt. She looked up from digging through her carry on bag to give us a quick smile before taking a seat in front of us. Next came Ikkaku in all of his bald glory. He spotted me sitting near the back and waved. I nodded my head in his direction as he took a seat near the front. Then in ran in a small girl with bright pink hair. She ran up and down the aisles laughing happily before jumping in the row two seats away from us. She stood up in the chair and looked back at us a huge smile on her face. "Hi Ichigo!" she called out. "Hello Yachiru." I said with a small smile. "We're going to China!" she said happily. "I know, exciting isn't it? She nodded vigorously. "Yeah! When we get there Ken-chan said he would teach me how to catch snakes."

I barely suppressed a laugh. It would be just like Kenpachi to teach his daughter how to handle dangerous animals. "Where is Kenpachi?" She points at the door. Coming in after Yachiru was a large monster of a man. He was wearing a tight black undershirt that was stretched tight across his muscular frame and a pair of large faded camouflage pants. He was so large he had to duck to get into the plane. His single dark eye panning over the few occupants before settling on Yachiru then me. Rukia elbowed me in the ribs and gave me a sly smile. I ignored both looks and continued to stare out the window. It's not like I didn't like Kenpachi, it's just that he was a little too persistent with trying to make me his boyfriend.

Seriously, just one little fight and he was hooked on me. Last but not least came in Urahara, striped hat on and fan in hand. He closes the door and turns to address us. "Okay guys just a quick reminder before we take off. When we land we have to meet our driver who will take us to the construction site. From there the supervisor will fill us in on the more current details of their situation." With that he takes a seat near the front and the planes engine starts before lurching forward. Rukia and I buckle up as the plane begins to take off. "Next stop China." She whoops happily. "My third continent." I smile and look out of the window, watching as the clouds rolled by underneath us ready for a new adventure and another discovery.

[ (-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) (-_-) \(*0*)/ ]

When we touched down in China the first thing I did was grab my luggage, which was a full backpack and a slightly overstuffed canvas duffel bag. The second thing I did was go down to the cargo hold to check on Shiro. I hopped of the plane and calmly made my way to the back where Ikkaku and Kenpachi were sliding Shiro's cage down the ramp. Inside the cage Shiro paced back and forth excitedly, happy that the ride was over. "Hey Shiro, how was the ride?" I reached into the cage to pet him on his white stripped head. He purred happily and licked at my hand with his rough pink tongue. He padded up to the door and pawed at the lock. "Sorry boy I can't let you out yet. Not until we get to where we're going." I laughed when he growled and laid back down on the cage floor.

We were now near Xinzhou, China in the Shanxi province. When the supervisor Urahara mentioned got here he would drive us the rest of the way to our destination, the forest around the base of the Taihang mountains where there was a small camp set up. A construction crew wanted to clear some of the forest there to add in some building for a new tourist attraction. The mountain itself was already a tourist attraction with its natural caves and pathways plus the forest was a beautiful place to relax. I didn't agree with them cutting down the trees and disrupting the animals and this place's natural beauty but I could understand why they would want to build something there. (I did my research : p).

Kenpachi came down the ramp and joined me and the others with Yachiru riding on his shoulders, holding onto his ponytail for support. "Ichi, can I play with Shiro?" she asked with wide expectant eyes. "Not now kiddo. Maybe later." She pouts and climbs down from Kenpachi's broad sholders go bug Yourichi who had a soft spot for the small girl. Kenpachi smirks at me, a feral grin on his face as he leered over my body. "You better watch out Ichigo, Kenpachi looks like he'll pounce on you at any moment." Rukia whispered as she walked up next to me. I snorted and looked over in the direction that Urahara was standing talking with a short young looking man with long black hair tied back in a waist long braid. He was dressed in a red t-shirt and light blue jeans.

When they finished talking the walked over to where we were, everyone stopping their conversations to listen. "Everyone. This," He motions to the man with his fan. "Is He-ping, the one who called us to help with his problem." "Hello everyone. I'm glad to see that you all made it here safely." He spoke perfect Japanese with only a slight accent. "I'm the supervisor of the crew that you will be working beside." He gave us a bright smile, his gaze panning over us before landing on the cage next to me. "Woah!" He turned to Urahara. "So that's why you wanted me to bring the extra truck." Urahara barely hid a smile behind his open fan. "That's the pet of our main animal expert, Ichigo." He moitions towards me. He-ping stares at me with unsuppressed amazement.

"You have a pet tiger." he said incredulously. I shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "It's a long story." "One we don't have time for." anounced Urahara. "Grab your stuff and get in the van. We have another long ride ahead of us before we reach the site." Everyone picks up their things and head around the plane to the twelve passenger van on the other side. Behind the van was a large white flatbed truck presumably for Shiro's cage. Ikkaku and Kenpachi take the cage over to the truck and begin to put it into the back. "Hey Ichigo, I'll ride with you so you won't be all lonely." After a great deal of inner struggle I relent and let her ride with me. Another two hours of riding with Rukia in addition to the four on the plane. Oh joy. I hop in the drivers side and start up the engine. I pull up behind the van and follow it as it starts down the cracked paved road.

[ (-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) (-_-) \(*0*)/ ]

After a couple hours of driving, passing a few small villages and then nothing but forest we turn down a dirt road. Thirty minutes later we pull into a large clearing. We park next to a couple large pieces of machinery and make our way out. I get out and stretch my stiff legs, rubbing them to get some blood circulating again. "I never want to sit in another car ever again." I declare. With stiff shaky legs I walk around the back to let Shiro out. He's bound to be all stir-crazy since he's been in that cage for a long time. As soon as I came into view Shiro began to pace back and forth at the anticipation of freedom. "Hold your horses. You'll be out in a second." I pull out a small silver key and began to work on the locks on the cage door unaware of the many pairs of eyes staring at me.

When I unlocked the last of the three locks Shiro didn't wait for me to even attempt to open the door before he lept down onto the ground. He pawed at the grass and stretched arching his back, letting out a small yawn. "Better?" By way of a response he began to rub against my legs while purring like an overgrown house cat. Shiro was as tall as my waist on all fours and even taller than me on two but he was careful not to be too rough. As I stretched one last time and grabbed my bags I was aware of all the workers staring at Shiro and me. Occasionally they would whisper to each other in Chinese and make hand gestures. "Why do they look so amazed?" I asked Rukia.

Every time I brought Shiro anywhere I got looks and stares but I have longed since gotten used to it but this felt different. "Tigers, especially white ones, are a very important part of our culture. To see one brings good luck." I jumped when He-ping's voice came out of nowhere to provide that explanation. "They think that you are a deity of some sort to bring them good fortune and that that tiger is your servant." He-ping was standing a ways away from us while the others from our party were on the other side of the clearing setting up camp near the workers. "Really?" asked Rukia giving me a smirk. He nodds. "They feel as if you will bring about a great change." "I hope so."

Rukia and I make our way over to the others so we could set up our tents and prepare for our search. After that was done I took out all the cases with the huting cameras, sensors, and trackers to set up our perimeter. Ikkaku and Kenpachi went out to set up the camera with Rukia going along to help while Yourichi helped me set up the monitors for our ground zero that I would be in charge of. Yachiru was playing in a patch of flowers and Urahara was speaking to the workers with He-ping acting as the translator to get more information about the thing we were looking for. When Rukia, Ikkaku, and Kenpachi got back Urahara gave us a quick rundown. "From what these guys are telling me the animal we're looking for is large and fast. So due to that they have never gotten a good clear look at it, but from what they have seen they can tell that it has reddish brown fur and it usually spends it's time in the trees. They don't think it's any animal they've ever seen in this region before, so lets try to proceed with caution."

At that last part everyone looked at Rukia and me. "Oh come on! That was one time." I argue. "So," Says Urahara continuing on. "we will all be scouting in groups of two. Yourichi and me, Ichigo and Rukia, and Kenpachi and Ikkaku. We will keep in contact with the walkie-talkies and Ichigo will be monitoring the cameras and our locations. Everyone got that?" We all muttered our yeses. "Then lets get started. Kenpachi and Ikkaku grab your gear and start heading west we'll go to the east." We all went our separate ways with me and Rukia watching the moniters for the hunting cameras and everyone else's personal camera. "So Rukia," I say as I leaned back on Shiro who was laying down behind me. "how are you going to cause trouble this time?" Rukia cocked her head to the side as if in thought. "Nothing this time. I decided to take a break and relax from my usual routine. Besides if I cause any more trouble big brother might keep me from going on any trips." I laugh, looking over the monitors as everyone made their way deeper into the forest.

"Ichigo!" I let out a small 'oof' as Yachiru jumped into my lap a bundle of flowers in both of her hands. "I made you and Rukia-chan something." She reached up and placed a flower wreath on my head and then went over to put one on Rukia's. I fought to keep the scowl off my face as Rukia laughed and hugged the small girl. "They're so pretty." cooed Rukia. "Why don't you go make some for the others. I'm sure they would love one too." She beamed and ran over to the patch of flowers to make more. "What's wrong Ichigo? Don't you want to look pretty?" giggled Rukia as I took of the wreath. "Hell no." I growled. Both scientists went back and forth with each other unaware of the pair of eyes secretly watching them from above.

A few boring minutes later the walkie-talkie came to life as Urahara came on to check in. "Ichigo. Rukia. How are things on the other cameras?" I picked up the small device and press the button on the side to send out a reply. "Nothing so far. How are things on your end?" The line was silent for a while, his monitor showing him and Yourichi walking along the edge of a small stream into a closely packed cluster of trees. "Nothing much here too. We have seen some animals but nothing like what the workers here are describing. Though we have heard some unusual noises." The camera shook a little as he stepped over something out of the lenses line of sight. He stopped while Yourichi continued ahead, disappearing around a large rock. "Unusual how?" I asked a little intrigued. "Unusual like…well…like they could be animal but they could be something else."

I ponder this for a bit before speaking again. "Something else?" "I know it sounds weird but I-" A loud cracking sound broke out over the walkie-talkie followed by an angry sounding yell. Urahara's camera jerks as he turns in the direction of where the sounds were coming from, which happened to be the direction that Yourichi went. "Urahara! What was that!?" He doesn't answer. He runs towards the large rock the camera shaking like crazy. I caught a glimpse of something white and blurry before both the camera and walkie-talkie burst into static. "Urahara!" No reply. "Urahara, report! Now!" Still no reply. "Damn it!" I slammed down the useless device ready to smash it to pieces when Rukia, who was silent during this whole exchange put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't. You need to calm down. We can't help them if they really are in serious trouble. Call in the others so we can organize a search." I nod slightly. I call back Kenpachi and Ikkaku to meet us back at base.

About thirty minutes later they were back. After a short while of explaining the situation we grab our gear and begin heading in the direction that Urahara and Yourichi disappeared in. As we neared the edge of the clearing I heard a faint rustling sound. Before I could focus in on the sound Yourichi came stumbling out of the foliage. "Yourichi!" I caught her as she stumbled over to us. Her clothes were messy and dirty like she had recently gotten into a fight and her hair was out of its usual pony tail and hung down around her face in limp disheveled strands. "Yourichi, are you ok?" asked Rukia as she moved next to me to look the poor woman over. "I-I'm fine. Just a little caught off guard." Caught off guard? I knew for a fact that Yourichi was a world class martial artist. There is no way that anything human or animal could surprise her. There was another loud rustle from the same spot and another person stepped into the clearing across from us. The first thing I saw was bright electric blue hair.


	2. Panda-monium

Chapter 2

**Thanks for all your support to all who supported this story. I appreciate every little thing. Now for what you came here for.**

There was only one person I knew with hair that wildly colored. After the initial shock wore off I began to glare at the man along with Yourichi. My temper flared as I took in the sight the arrogant hunter dressed in white and camo. By the time I finish staring him down I notice smoky blue eyes staring back at me. "Grimmjow." I growl. At the sound of his name coming out of my mouth he smiled. A large creepy psychotic smile. "Strawberry…" He breathes. I bristle at the nickname. I don't even let my friends call me that, so if he thinks he can call me whatever he pleases he has another thing coming. "What are you doing here?" I asked angrily.

Before he could answer another person emerges from the forest. This time it was a tall thin wiry man with an eye patch on his left eye. He came crashing out of the forest holding a high powered hunting rifle in his hand. His single dark eye panned over everyone before settling on Kenpachi. The hate the two held for the other seemed to resonate in the air as the two stared each other down. "Calm down Nnoitra. We didn't come here to fight." Nnoitra relaxed a little but didn't stop glaring. Nnoitra and Kenpachi apparently had some history together. "Feh!" He adjusted the gun so that the stock was resting in his hand and the barrel was leaning against his shoulder. "Not like I would lose." I could feel Kenpachi, who was standing somewhere behind me, make a move to go up and throttle the one eyed man but I stop him with a hand on his chest. "Don't." He tenses and stands down. For the moment.

I glare at both men. "What are you two doing here?" I asked, not bothering to keep the disgust and resentment out of my voice. Nnoitra sneered at me. "Don't get your panties in a bunch Strawberry." There was that name again. A large tic mark appeared on my forehead. "Our boss will be here with yours in a moment." Boss? As if this day couldn't get any better. As soon as the word boss left Nnoitra's mouth the bushes rustle again as someone stepped into the clearing. The first person that came out was Urahara, a grim expression on his face as he walked up to stand with us. Then came a pale silver haired man in a half buttoned dress shirt and slacks. He had a large creepy smile and narrowed eyes. Lastly, came a man with slicked back brown hair who looked more like he should be in a fashion magazine or running some big corporate business. He was dressed for it. I mean, who the hell is that big of a douche bag to wear a _business suit _in the forest? Did I mention that it was all white and didn't have so much as a wrinkle?

"Hey it's Ichigo and the gang! How've things been Berry-tan?" I swear on all that is sacred and holy in this world that if one more of those creeps called me strawberry I would sick both Kenpachi and Shiro on them. "Gin, we did not come here to fraternize with everyone." said the brown haired man. Gin's smile didn't falter one bit. "Sorry Aizen-sama. Just happy to see some old _friends._" The way he said the word friends made my stomach crawl. Aizen just smiled at his subordinates antics before fixing his cold smile on the rest of us. I could feel Shiro's body bristle as he let out a low growl. I grab onto his collar as he threatened to lunge forward. "Don't eat that." I chided. "You'll get sick." Urahara gives me a look and I decided to shut up. "What are you doing here Aizen?" asked Urahara. He lets out a small laugh. "The same reason as you."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Here to hunt down another harmless animal." "From what I've heard this animal isn't so harmless." "You don't even know what this creature is much less how to capture it." Interjects Urahara. "All the more exciting to hunt. The rarer the animal the greater the prize." At that last part I could feel his eyes on me. Letting go of Shiro's collar seemed like a pretty tempting idea right now. "We won't let you. You don't have the right." His smirk didn't falter one bit. "There isn't any power in this world that can stop me. So as far as I'm concerned it's free game for anyone to do as they please." With that he turns and walks back the way he came from, disappearing in the forest. Grimmjow, Nnoitra, and Gin follow after him, all smirking and joking about the new game to be found.

[(-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) (-_-) \(*0*)/]

Unknown to both parties, there was a witness to their exchange. High in the treetops amber eyes stared down at the people below. The owner of the mysterious prying eyes focused in on the two individuals that stood out the most. A man in all white and a man with bright orange hair. From what the stranger could feel, the man in all white just oozed evil, power, and malicious intent. That one would need to be taken care of. Him and his pack. From the orange one, rage? Concern? Both? But for what? Looking deeper the stranger smiles. So he wants to protect this place from that man. He might prove to be a useful ally. Amber eyes follow the man in white as he makes his way back to the forest with his pack, no doubt to that campsite from earlier. The others with the orange haired man retreat in the opposite direction out of my line of sight. The orange haired man stayed where he was glaring at the edge of the forest with a white tiger. Orange hair then turned at the sound of someone calling him and he began to walk away. But not before taking one last look around, his gaze lingering up at my hiding place for a while then breaking away. Suspicious are we? It seems that I might have to keep an eye on him too.

[(-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) (-_-) \(*0*)/]

It was now night and Aizen's crew had just come back from setting traps and setting up and disabling cameras. Each decided to retire for the day and work on their own things. Aizen was sitting near the fire reading a book and drinking out of a thermos filled with tea. This time he was dressed in slightly more appropriate Friday casual clothes instead of his Sunday best. Gin was laying down on his sleeping bag outside looking up at the stars, a pair of headphones over his ears and the faint sound of screeching guitars and the heavy beat of drums could be heard coming from them. Nnoitra was also sitting next to the fire but instead of reading or listening to music he was cleaning a wide variety of guns and hunting knives. Everyone was pretty much quiet and content with the way things were for now accept Grimmjow. The blue haired man was pacing back and forth restlessly. He took a few more steps before letting out a frustrated sigh. "I can't take this anymore! If I don't go out and kill something right now I think I might go stir-crazy." Gin lifted one of his headphone speakers and cracked open one ice blue eye to stare at the man. "Looks like Grim-kitty is bored." Grimmjow glared at the fox like man who was too busy listening to his music to care or even pay attention.

Aizen simply looked up from his book to stare at his restless subordinate. "If you must go take Nnoitra or Starrk with you. I don't need you causing trouble. "And with that he went back to his book. Grimmjow looked over at Nnoitra who rolled his eye. "I'm not going with you. "He then continued to clean his weapons. "Starrk!" Sitting against a tree a little ways away from everyone else was a tall and slim man with wavy brown hair dressed suspiciously like Crocodile Dundy. He lifted the hat resting on his face to expose tired looking gray eyes. "What?" he asked with a yawn." "Come with me." He looked at the expectant blunett with a bored expression. "No." He placed his hat back down and promptly went back to sleep. Grimmjow growled angrily. "Fine! I don't need either of you fuckers anyway!" He turns and storms off into the surrounding forest, grumbling obscenities as he went. Aizen just sighed and calmly sipped at his tea. "Starrk. Follow him." The hunter sighed and slowly stood up. "Sure thing." he yawned. He stretched, placed his hands in his pants pockets and slowly followed after his blue haired teamate.

I stomped through the underbrush, angrily pushing aside branches and kicking stones out of my path. I stop at the base of a large tree to pace back and forth. My hands were balled into fist and my face was set with a savage looking grimace. Taking a few deep breaths I slowly calms down to a point where I could think clearly. With a loud sigh I sink down to the ground to sit against the tree. "How uncool." I mutter. There was no way he could go back to camp now after storming away like that. 'Might as well stay here for a while.' I look up to survey my surroundings. 'Depending on where 'here' was_.' _"Great! Just great! Fan-fucking-tastic!" In his anger he forgot to pay attention to where he was going. Now he was lost. Oh well. If he knew Aizen like he did, he probably sent someone out to follow him and bring him back. I would just have to wait here until then.

I was just thinking about how to pass the time when I heard a rustling sound in some nearby bushes. A large smirk appeared on my face. 'It looks like I'll get to do what Iwanted to do in the first place.' I slowly stood up and reached for the hunting knife attached to my belt. Gripping it firmly I slowly start towards my prey. I could feel my heart pounding with excitement as adrenaline started to run through my veins. Judging by the sound coming from the bushes it was something small. A panda or something like that. As I drew closer I brought up my knife ready to strike. I was just about to place my free hand down so I could part the bushes and reach my objective when something small and dark shot out of the bushes and scrambled up the tree I was just sitting by a minute ago.

I frown and let out a small growl, obviously dissatisfied about losing my prey_. '_There goes my entertainment.' I think angrily as I walked back to lean against the tree, putting my unused knife back in its sheathe. "What a waste." I grumbled. I've completely lost interest in hunting for the day. My foot tapped impatiently on a nearby root. What was taking so long? I didn't wander that far. Something small and hard falling on my head brought me out of my thoughts. The hell? I ran a hand through my hair trying to locate the object. There. I pulled my hand away and came back with an… acorn. 'Where did this come from?' I think as I examine it. Dissimissing it as nothing, I toss it over my shoulder into the grass. "Feh! I hope we find this thing Aizen wants as soon as possible." I say angrily. There were literally a thousand other places that I could be at this moment where the game was much better than the game in this pitiful forest.

No sooner than I uttered that last word the tree above me shook violently, showering me with leaves, acorns, and small branches. "What the-" Out of nowhere something launched itself at my head and clung to my face. Pain flared up as I felt sharp claws and teeth pierced the fleshy parts of my face, neck and shoulders. I roared in frustration, bringing my hands up to rip away the creature busy trying to maul me. It let go with a loud angry sounding yowl when I finally ripped it off, the action leaving deep bleeding claw marks in my right cheek. The thing hissed and writhed in my grip trying to desperately get away. I glared hatefully at the small furry thing in my hand with murder in my eyes. Suddenly, it reared up and sunk its tiny sharp teeth into my wrist. I dropped it as I hissed in pain to clutch at the new wound. It hit the floor running. Running all the way back to the bush I raided earlier where it stayed. 'That thing is fucking dead!'

I grabbed the knife from my belt and stomped over to the bushes. I didn't care what that thing was or if it was what Aizen was looking for, it was going to die. Tonight. With heavy steps I walk toward the bushes, knife held high ready to impale the creature. The bushes shake and shudder violently as a monstrous giant rose from the foliage. I look up slack jawed as a wild obviously angry looking grizzly bear stared down furiously at me. Slowly, I took a few steps back so I wasn't near the enraged beast. Somewhere during this process I dropped my knife but I knew I wouldn't be needing it. The bear sniffed the air, training it's dark eyes on me. I took one step back. Then another. And another. For every step I took it took two steps forward towards me. I continued to step back until something latched around my leg causing me to stumble and flipping me so that I was hanging upside down. Now I definitely wasn't going to get away.

The hunter is now being hunted. Caught in a simple rope trap like some small helpless rodent. It would be almost comical if it wasn't so life threatening. The only thing particularly good about this is that my comrades weren't here to see me in this embarrassing state. If they were here I would have happily fed myself to this bear to avoid the overbearing (no pun intended) shame that would be sure to haunt me for the rest of my life. A loud growl causes me to look up (down?) at the bear just in time to see it swing one large furry paw aimed right at my head. The powerful blow nearly knocks me out cold, my neck snapping to the side as pain raced through my skull. I could faintly see the bears other paw swinging back to land another blow through hazy pain glazed eyes. The second blow knocks me out cold as the heavy blow sent my head reeling. As soon as the blue haired man was unconscious the bear stopped, sniffing at the body with interest. Then suddenly the bear began to change shape shrinking down smaller and smaller till it was the same size and shape as a man. The shadowed figure then proceeded to cut down the man, lowering him to the ground to be tied up. The figures ears pricked up at the sound of a twig breaking, alerting him to the approach of someone else nearby. Without any hesitation the figure picks up his captive and starts towards the opposite direction.

[(-_-) (-_) ( ) (_-) (-_-) \(*0*)/]

Starrk stalked through the forest to look for his lost comrade, a bored expression on his face. 'Where the heck is Grimmjow?' he thinks. He seriously wanted to go back to camp and take a long well deserved nap. With a loud opened mouth yawn he pushed past some bushes to enter a small dark clearing. Standing in the center with his back turned to Starrk was the blue haired nuisance that forced him to be out here when he could be sleeping. "Grimmjow!" he called out lazily.

No response. Starrk let out a low sigh as he walked up to the oblivious bluenett. "Grimmjow." Starrk hit the unsuspecting man in the back of the head. Only then did he reaction. "Ow! What?" He complained, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Stop spacing out. Let's go." Starrk turned and headed out in the direction of the camp not bothering to wait for the other. Grimmjow set his mouth in a firm line and started after the lazy male. Unknown to the latter his companion had a new appendage. Something that he probably would have seen if he, the normally observant one in the group, would have stopped to contemplate the weird behavior Grimmjow was now displaying. Behind Grimmjow a long furry brown tail swayed ever so slightly before disappearing down his baggy pants to wrap around his leg*.

***Authors Note: In the Chinese folklore the Monkey King, the Monkey King can transform into any animal or person he wants. He can transform into animals perfectly. But humans are a different story. Though he can match a humans features only one slight problem remains. He can't get rid of his tail so he has to keep it hidden to keep others from finding out when he goes out as a human. **


End file.
